#anti-bonding

[gojuo]

Remember what they're taking from you

Fire and Blood, p. 398:

Fire and Blood, p. 387:

Fire and Blood, p. 390:

Fire and Blood, p. 401:

Fire and Blood, p. 402:

Fire and Blood, p. 409:

Fire and Blood, p. 424:

Fire and Blood, p. 425:

Fire and Blood, p. 437:

Fire and Blood, p. 473:

Fire and Blood, p. 561:

Dangerous Women, The Princess and the Queen, p. 783:

Fire and Blood, p. 506:

Fire and Blood, p. 381:

Fire and Blood, p. 380:

Fire and Blood, p. 533:

Fire and Blood, p. 541:

Fire and Blood, p. 542:

Fire and Blood, p. 550:

[bylergetonefree]

literally nothing is funnier to me than the idea of el telling hopper that she and mike broke up and him being like “oh. sorry kid. a great decision tbh, but sorry” and then throwing himself a little party, and then like a month later will’s like “dad meet my boyfriend” and hopper just sits down and takes several very deep breaths because mike wheeler is somehow his future son in law again what the fuck

[seleneprince]

ACOSF, except that Nesta refuses to move to the House of Wind and packs her bags to leave to the "human lands", but instead of actually going there, she stops at the Spring Court and kinda forces Tamlin to take her in. After all, Spring is close enough to the human lands and she's sure none of the IC would look for her Spring.

She and Tamlin clash at first, but then Nesta tells him that Feyre wanted to lock her in the House of Wind for "her own good" and Tamlin has to take a walk outside the house to not break anything because what the fuck? Those people haven't forgiven him for locking Feyre up to protect her and make him miserable because of it, but suddenly it's okay when they do it? Unbelievable.

They drink together and bond over the Night Court's hypocrisy, how they were treated by them, and Feyre. They start living together. Tamlin plays the music and Nesta dances to it. They spend time in silence in his library or taking relaxing strolls around the garden. Nesta does more healing there that she could've done in the House of Wind. Eventually, she and Tamlin become good friends.

Oh, and she meets Eris again and they actually get to know each other outside the Night Court's machinations. They have a slowburn romance and get married eventually, turning Nesta into the High Lady of Autumn. She helps Tamlin rebuild his court and strikes an alliance between both courts, and she thrives with positive relationships and a man that genuinely loves her and doesn't try to change her.

Also Lucien makes up with Tamlin and returns to Spring, adding him to Nesta's friendship circle.

[lainalit]

Azriel in his bonus chapter💀

artists: lucien: mftfernandez | azriel: dominiquewesson

[kkbardd]

An old western romance 🌵

Cool beauty bartender!Rei x Lone Ranger!Asuka

[earl-of-grey]

Radioapple 📻🍎 moment:

They loathe each other’s presence, but the moment Vox shows up on the hotel’s doorstep…

They beat the shit outta that tv screen together in beautiful harmony ❤️

[acourtofthought]

Elain shrinks into herself when Lucien is around?

This girl gets flashes of the future. You know there's been images of:

Their bodies slick with sweat

His teeth on her inner thighs

His voice moaning her name

His hands tangled in her hair

His mouth on her.... well, everywhere

Her knees on the forest floor looking up at him.

Her crying out his name, again and again

Looking at Lucien would bring those images racing back and we all know that a shift in her scent could be detected, the reddening of her face would easily be spotted.

Elain was raised to behave like a lady.

Lucien brings about very unladylike thoughts.

Hot Mate + Seer Powers = Elain having no need to read a smutty novel for inspiration because she's now already seen things she never realized were a thing and you know she'd be struggling with how much they intrigued her since as Nesta said, humans were taught primness.

It's really that simple. Sarah didn't call Lucien her love then remind us over and over of how hot he is, how Cassian, Amren and the king noted his good looks, how Feyre thought of his warm bare chest, broad hard shoulders and gleaming hair (while already mated to Rhys no less), for one of the daemati twins to tell us all about the bedroom habits of the Autumn Court males only for his own mate not to notice the exact same things.

[terrorofthetrident]

despite the driftmark scene being so tragic, i love the greens family dynamic in this scene. you have alicent, woken out of her sleep, comforting her baby boy, who’s just been maimed, while she fights for him when it’s just her in a room full of people looking at her like she lost her mind. you have aemond, in immense pain, missing an eye, and with fresh stitches on his face, being interrogated by viserys but he refuses to snitch on his mother and instead puts the blame on aegon, maybe knowing/trusting that he’d be able to get them out of that situation. then, you have aegon, taken by surprise and probably still hungover, who won’t out his mother either, he protects her and aemond by bravely stating the plain truth to viserys’ face and viserys can’t even say anything back. in the end, when alicent loses it and cuts rhaenyra, aemond decides it’s more important to act as if he’s fine in order to calm his mother and mediate the situation, preventing it from going any further than that and then going over to hug alicent in efforts to comfort her and likely to seek comfort as well…all they really have is each other

[lovelygwyneth]

I love how poetic it is that Elain is represented as the spring/flowers and they bloom with the sun (Lucien) but die in the darkness (Azriel).

While Azriel's shadows run away from Elain, but dance and are happy with Gwyn's presence.

Mates are made to be complementary, their essence brings life to their mate, not erases it.

[scarycranegame]

guys. guys listen.

if you wanna write and/or post a fanfic but are worried that no one will like it.

do not be worried. at all.

because even if no one else is interested, YOU are. you enjoy this idea. you're passionate about this concept. you should write for YOU, not for potential critics.

and even besides that, i guarantee you that there's at least 1 other person out there who would also enjoy your fic. it's essentially statistically impossible for you to be the only person on the planet who thinks the way you do, and enjoys the themes and ideas and characters and settings that you do.

write it. post it. take pride in the fact that you created something that you value. your fic exists, and that in of itself is amazing.

antis dni, this isn't about you or the graphic threats of harm you send to real people whom you dislike. get a real hobby.

proship/comship/profiction/etc. safe!

[shawolsos]

Things could have been so different if James and Petunia had just bonded over their mutual disdain for Snape

[separatist-apologist]

Feyre: Rhysand is my mate and I'm telling you this to your face.

Also Feyre: If you try and break my mating bond, I'm going to ruin your life.

Also Feyre: If you drag me back to Spring against my will, I'll destroy everything you love.

Tamlin: Break her mating bond so I can drag her back to Spring and we can start over.

Also Tamlin: I can't believe you destroyed everything I love and ruined my life!

[emmitaaa4]

“Elriel is too predictable! It’s boring & lazy writing!”

… 🧍‍♂️

My brother in Christ. You call SJM the fated mates author. Through 15+ books and 3 series she hasn’t diverged from that trope. Elain has a “mate”.

If an Elriel outcome is predictable, it’s because the author willed it so and therefore ✨wrote scenes✨ to ✨develop their relationship✨.

and by that i mean…

(long post ahead…. bear with me)

SJM wrote Mr. “I don’t need to resort to poetry” going all Azriel Allan Poe, flustered as he tells Elain “we are born hearing the song of the wind”. She wrote him uncharacteristically open & talkative, while when he 1st met Feyre he deferred all her questions to others.

SJM wrote that despite how different they may look, Elain does not balk from Az. She never has: from their 1st meeting she finds comfort in him, and he in turn notices her—she’s never been afraid of him, he has always seen her.

SJM wrote the 1st coherent thing to come out of Elain’s mouth in WaR to be “beautiful” as she beholds Azriel’s scarred hands. In turn, she wrote our gardener not minding imperfections on hers, for despite her lady-like conditioning, she prefers to get her hands dirty.

SJM wrote Az spending time with her in the sunshine: no forced conversation, no one hEaLinG anyone, just them both doing their own thing as a relaxed Az suns his wings. Just two pals comfortable with one another… which SJM foreshadowed in MaF through Feyre’s “Elain would likely cling to Az for some peace and quiet”.

SJM wrote Az and Cass both stilling at the sight of El & Nes, she wrote Az cutting in to set Elain up in her garden even as Feyre was about to do it, she wrote the mention that Elain was safe after the twin raven’s attack bc Az had stayed with her at the townhouse.

SJM wrote Azriel’s eyes churning as he looks at Elain and her too-thin body, before abruptly winnowing away, and we’re left with Mor looking at the spot where he left. Wonder what that was about (it certainly did not remind me of Rhys in TaR).

You know, Elriels are not just making stuff up and theorizing about the E/ucien bond cause we’re desperately pulling at straws…

SJM had Madja say “a mate would know if something is amiss”, then wrote a scene juxtaposing both Lucien’s and Azriel’s reactions/assessments of what was going on with Elain… and she had Azriel be the one to know nothing was “wrong” with her—no, she just had rare powers and needed to be heard, to be taken seriously. He didn't let her be misunderstood, for he was the ONLY one that listened to her, that took her visions/ramblings seriously right from the get go. And so he gave Elain the understanding she needed to free herself from the dream-like murky realm she was trapped in. Through it all, SJM emphasizes that Azriel also understands what it is like to struggle with rare, strange, prized powers in silence; what it’s like to be othered by them. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: she sees everything and he hears everything.

SJM wrote that “Elain had hoped that love would trump even a mating bond” and had her characters question the Cauldron in relation to Elucien *twice* (years apart!).

…

SJM wrote Az being the only one—in a room full of Made beings speaking of being Made—to notice that Elain was missing. A reassuring but empty statement by Cass that they’d get her back….but then it was Azriel that stated, eyes glowing golden, that HE would be getting her back, despite the girl’s own sister discouraging him & telling him he’d die. Hell, Feyre had this whole deliberation on whether she’d join him only after he’d say he’d go. His initiative.

The Hybern scene is too long to add, but this post and this theory break it all down brilliantly.

Yes, Az has sacrificial tendencies. Yes, he’d risk his life for loved ones in general. But we have never seen him this affected, and it is because SJM purposely used language to emphasize Elain and Azriel’s meaningful reactions to the other… despite it being wholly “unnecessary”

It is all intentional… lazy’s antonym.

SJM wrote the Truthteller scene. She emphasized the exchange, which left Cassian gasping and Rhys flabbergasted; it also left Feyre with a significant painting in her mind. It lead to Elain, aka “my God has answered me,” stepping out of a shadow to save her sister. Azriel, aka “God is my help”, indeed helped armed Elain so she could answer her sisters prayers.

SJM ended WaR with Elain’s smile literally lighting up Az’s shadows.

SJM had Elain’s thoughtful gift to him make his eyes the brightest we’ve seen—and by doing so gave us the most beautiful description of his earthy eyes, “the hues of green amid the brown and gray like veins of emerald.” We have never seen Az so joyful & carefree throughout the entire series.

SJM wrote that Azriel beat Feyre to Elain’s side as she was looking out into the night. She wrote Elain stilling at the sight of a dashing Azriel—her throat bobbing—while Az “just moved towards her”.

SJM wrote the potato scene—“sit i’ll take care of it”—Azriel again being the one to respect Elain’s presence & contribution as he makes a room full of his “superiors” wait until Elain finishes tidying herself up (cause girlie wanted to look put together for a certain shadowsinger). Mor gapes, Amren smirks, Rhys talks of Az’s mom… all because of that surprising, singular behaviour from him.

SJM wrote Az making a joke at Amren’s expense upon noticing Elain’s discomfort; our girl’s shoulders indeed relax in relief. THE LIGHT RETURNS IN HER EYES.

SJM has Azriel staying up past 3am with Elain, listening to her speak of something she is passionate of.

SJM wrote Azriel spending an entire convo with his brothers looking out into the garden from the window (SJM mentioned it 4 times yet some still missed it).

SJM wrote Rhys goading Az for a reaction as he quizzes him on Lucien and Grayson; wrote Rhys realizing that Azriel did not want to know what Elain did with Lucien (in the case she did anything). She wrote Azriel nervously stuttering as he asks risks if they need to get the sisters a present… I wonder why.

And Rosehall… SJM wrote ROSEhall: cracktheory this cracktheory that, to the gwonriels I’d say we both know you wouldn’t say it’s irrelevant had SJM chosen to call his estate Tealhall.

~~~~

Keep in mind: SJM could have written those significant scenes and ultimately kept it PG: she could have chosen language that built up a profound platonic relationship.

Yet… in MaF she has Feyre comment that they would be good together—as in make a good *couple*. WaR roles in and they’re both dealing with the very public rejections they went through—but SJM had them build a quiet companionship in the background, while giving them a wealth of scenes of great significance for both their characters, and while using language like “she DEVOURED the sight of him” “he CRADLED her to his chest”. In FaS they are slowly but surely getting over their last loves, and SJM continues developing their connection.

And in ACOSF, in the book that supposedly “ended” Elriel…

SJM wrote Az following the sound of her laugh (😭). “ It’s just lust” PLEASE BFFR.

SJM chose to remind us—THREE times—of the Hybern rescue scene... then had Az tell Cass that he’d know, in his chest, if something happened to Nesta.

SJM had Az longingly stare at the gift Elain gave him every night for a YEAR—mind plagued by thoughts of her—made him so affected by her that he had reactions to every mention of her name in SF, so affected that it took Nes one look at them to notice his feelings, to reach out in comfort upon noticing the pain that keeping himself apart from to her caused him. As SJM said she would, Nes saw through his secret in ACOSF, still it is “his secret to tell, never hers”. After Solstice we are met with a grumpy Azriel, who lost the snowball fight for the 1st time in centuries (i wonder why…).

SJM chose to link his every secret back to his feelings for Elain, as per the bonus . Why does he stay up so late and wake up so early? He longs for Elain so much he can’t sleep. Why is he staying in the HoW? It is too hard to be close to Elain given their circumstances; he must physically distance himself from her. Why has he moved on from Mor after centuries? Elain. Why is he grumpy post Solstice? The argument with Rhys concerning Elain.

~~~~

Ultimately, SJM wrote for Elriel:

- Complementary imagery (flowers and death? light and dark blending together to form something new… DUSK, anyone?)

- AND plot altering scenes

- AND chose to liken them to one another multiple times

- AND genuine moments of companionship that slowly bloomed into something more…

… Is it so insane to believe that maybe SJM spent so much page time and effort building connections & common ground between them because she intends for elain & az to find peace and quiet within one another?

Or idk, maybe it was all for shits and giggles… and if it was i salute her commitment to the shits and the giggles🫡

Either way, it is the opposite of lazy writing…

It’s SJM’s world & words, and we are just reading them.

P.S: This was all just typed on my cell phone from the top of my head… yes remembering all this is probs concerning, yes I am obsessed. Please correct me if I got anything wrong.

[elucienscourt]

One thing I know for SURE is that if Lucien was given the chance to fight Azriel and had the chance to win…he still wouldn’t do it. Not because he believes he wouldn’t win, but because he’s too mature for that and he would KNOW that Elain wouldn’t want violence to win her over.

My guy would be like “Nah I’ll give Elain all the time and space she needs without needing to resort to physical violence because I’m not desperate, and I actually understand her unlike SOME people…” and then walk away 😭

[yaralulu]

”We want a rejected mates trope !!” who the hell is we 🤨⁉️.I cannot think of something more depressing to read about than two mates rejecting their bond.Especially when one person still longs for the other and has already lost the person they thought was their mate in such a tragic and brutal way.Now their actual mate wants nothing to do with them to the point where they want to reject their mating bond? Fucking ouch.Just something about two people whose literal souls are tied to one another ending up with other people doesn’t really read as romantic to me.

I understand that sjm might want to explore the rejected mates trope but why does lucien have to be the guinea pig?? I cannot think of one character less deserving to go through this trope than lucien.Not just because of his history with jesminda but because he genuinely hasn’t had a moment of peace since the beginning of this series.He does not deserve to have his mate reject him on top of everything else he just doesn’t.I want elain to be happy but if that’s gonna cost my favorite character his happiness and possibly his sanity then i’m allowed to be a little annoyed.

If elain really does reject the bond with lucien I don’t wanna be here to read that scene and I definitely don’t want a lucien pov of that.Can you imagine the fucking anguish and heartbreak of a scene like that yeah no thank youuuu.

[starsreminisce]

Rhys with Feyre on Tamlin

I heard you were going to marry him, and I told myself you were happy. I should let you be happy, even if it killed me. Even if you were my mate, you’d earned that happiness.

Rhy ended up with Feyre

Cassian with Nesta on Eris

“Because I was fucking jealous!” he roared, wings splaying. “You looked like a queen, and it was painfully obvious that you should be with a princeling like Eris and not a low-born nothing like me! Because I couldn’t stand the sight of it, right down to my gods-damned bones! But go ahead, Nesta. Go ahead and fucking marry him and good fucking luck to you!”

Cassian ended up with Nesta

And now, let's examine how Lucien and Azriel view the competition for Elain.

Lucien:

Lucien had encountered him, I realized. Somehow, in living with Jurian and Vassa at that manor, he’d run into Elain’s former betrothed. And managed to leave the human lord breathing. “I would agree with you on that,” I admitted. “But remember that they were engaged. Give her time to accept it.” “To accept a life shackled to me?” My nostrils flared. “That’s not what I meant.” “She wants nothing to do with me."

Azriel:

“Lucien, as Beron's son, has the right to demand it of you." "I'll defeat him with little effort." Pure arrogance laced every word, but it was true. “I know." Rhys's eyes flickered.

It's interesting how the three males react similarly and completely opposite to the one male who isn't mated. It's as if SJM placed a pattern on how a male should behave in order to win over the girl.